Mario Batali Helps Hellmann’s Celebrate 100 Years

Celebrity chef and The Chew co-host Mario Batali is Hellmann’s celebrate its 100th Anniversary by spicing things up in the kitchen and revamping some of the brand’s best recipes.

“It’s all about maintaining deliciousness, it’s all about maintaining juiciness, and it’s all about making sure your family is really happy,” he explained at a cooking demo. The chef, who cooks at home with his wife and two sons three days a week, is a big fan of bringing kids into the kitchen. “My sons will eat anything we eat because we never make it a big deal. We’re like, ‘hey, pass the parsnips!’”

“Once your kid has touched a parsnip, peeled it, helped sautée it, you can bet he will want to eat it.” The key, he says, is not to make food a mystery. “Make it accessible. Don’t make the fact that there is something green on their plate that they have never eaten before a big deal.”

Ingredients like Hellmann’s should help the home cook out, since the iconic mayo and dressing has been a household staple for a century now. As part of its rich its rich history of feeding America’s families during some of their greatest moments, Hellmann’s is helping provide one million meals to Feeding America this year to help the fight against hunger nationwide. This charity effort is one of the reasons Mario was so excited to join the brand in celebrating.

“My restaurant and food business has grown faster and spread more widely than I ever imagined. Sharing with people is really important to me and is now much of the focus of the next decade of my work.” Hunger relief and good nutrition is the first building block. He started the Mario Batali Foundation to help children realize their full potential and also to distribute food to those who need it. With Hellmann’s, he hopes to continue to support the work of the Food Bank for New York.

As part of the celebration of Hellmann’s® 100th birthday, Mario Batali has made over classic Hellmann’s® recipes, and in true Mario form, he wants you to help out. As part of the celebration, Mario is inviting home cooks to remake some of his recipes in the Create A Recipe With Mario contest. Each co-created dish with the “Hellmann’s Making Over the Best” app on Facebook acts as an entry to the contest. Add as many as three unique ingredients to his revamped recipes and you could be entered for a chance to sit at Mario’s larger-than-life “Blue Ribbon Table” –the World’s Longest Picnic Table, in New York City. table at the end of the summer. Mario will help pick his three favorite recipes. Then everyone votes for a winner. The more recipes you create, the more chances you have to be in the top three.

Think you have what it takes to cook like Mario? Here are some starter recipes to get you going.

Season chicken pieces with basil mixture and then place seasoned chicken pieces in the bowl and stir gently to coat well. Arrange chicken on baking sheet and sprinkle top with bread crumbs.

Bake 15 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Heat the marinara in a small sauce pan. Sprinkle the chicken pieces very lightly and evenly with mozzarella and put back in oven for 5 minutes till cheese is melted and bubbling.